Jeff Poor

On Friday, Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul stopped by “The Mike Huckabee Show,” where he sharply criticized Sen. John McCain’s opposition to his dramatic filibuster earlier in the week.

“You know, I think he’s just on the wrong side of history, and the wrong side of this argument, really,” Paul said. “When you think about it, it is pretty important. … Our soldiers go overseas, and they’re fighting for our Bill of Rights, and I was sitting next to a war veteran here at a conference just a few minutes ago, and the whole idea is that it wouldn’t be important that everybody gets their days in court — that you could accuse someone of something, and they wouldn’t get to defend themselves.”

“I really think that goes against everything America stands for,” Paul continued. “I had this exchange with Sen. McCain on the floor about a year ago. The government can indefinitely detain someone — an American citizen — and I said, ‘Does that mean you could send them to Guantanamo Bay from America without a trial?’ And he said ‘Yes, if they’re dangerous.’ But that begs the question: Who gets to decide whether you’re dangerous person or not?”

Host Mike Huckabee asked Paul if he had spoken to McCain since his remarks.

“You know, a little bit — I got on the elevator the other day and people were asking, ‘Well, what did you say? What did you say?’” Paul said. “You know I treat Sen. McCain with respect, and I don’t think I always get the same in return. But I would say I do think he’s a war hero. He deserves respect for spending years and years in prison during the Vietnam War. But I would say it doesn’t mean his ideas always trump everybody else’s.”